Elasticity of a semiflexible filament with a discontinuous tension due to a cross-link or a molecular motor

Phys Rev E. 2016 May;93(5):052408. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.93.052408. Epub 2016 May 18.

Abstract

We analyze the stretching elasticity of a wormlike chain with a tension discontinuity resulting from a Hookean spring connecting its backbone to a fixed point. The elasticity of isolated semiflexible filaments has been the subject in a significant body of literature, primarily because of its relevance to the mechanics of biological matter. In real systems, however, these filaments are usually part of supramolecular structures involving cross-linkers or molecular motors, which cause tension discontinuities. Our model is intended as a minimal structural element incorporating such a discontinuity. We obtain analytical results in the weakly bending limit of the filament, concerning its force-extension relation and the response of the two parts in which the filament is divided by the spring. For a small tension discontinuity, the linear response of the filament extension to this discontinuity strongly depends on the external tension. For large external tension f, the spring force contributes a subdominant correction ∼1/f^{3/2} to the well-known ∼1/sqrt[f]-dependence of the end-to-end extension.

MeSH terms

  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Elasticity
  • Molecular Motor Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Molecular Motor Proteins